Sid Hammerback and the Curious Case of the Dormouse and the Hat!
by Mahala
Summary: This one shot is part of the Fanfic Who? What? Where? Challenge set by Smuffly in the CSI Forum. The challenge was to write a story of any length with a random choice of one main character and one object and one location. I was given Sid Hammerback, a Hat and a High School. This also features Mac, Don and Adam.


This one shot is part of the Fanfic **Who? What? Where? Challenge** set by **Smuffly**

in the CSI Forum. (Yes I know it was AGES ago! Shoot me!)

The challenge was to write a story of any length with a random choice of one main character and one object and one location.

I was given Sid Hammerback, a hat and a High School so make of this what you will!

(Oh! And … er Smuffly? That other little challenge you set me … you're on!)

.

**Sid Hammerback and the Curious Case of the Dormouse and the Hat**

**.**

Mac Taylor pulled the Avalanche over behind Don's car, switched off the engine and sighed. It had been a long day. It had been a long week. All he wanted was to go home and sleep but the call had come in at the last minute and he hadn't the heart to call Danny and Lindsay back just as they were making their way towards the elevator so he took it himself. A wave of fatigue washed over him making him begin to regret his kind gesture. Dragging himself out of the car, he slammed the door, opened up the rear and pulled his silver kit from the back seat. His legs felt like lead as he walked slowly towards the gates of the Hiram Yates High School. His heart sank. He hated cases that involved schools especially expensive private schools. He prayed it wasn't another case involving drugs.

He nodded to the two officers setting up the security perimeter and made his way up the short path past neatly cut lawns and flowerbeds towards the flight of stairs where he could see the familiar outline of Don Flack talking to someone just inside the door. Mac squinted as the late evening sun blinded him. After a few more steps he walked into the shadow cast by the imposing building with it's high lattice windows and impressive columned portico. He shuddered as the warmth of the sun left him.

Mac trudged up the steps and Don turned hearing his approach. Mac's steps faltered as he saw the look on Don's face. It was _the look_. The one that said: 'You're going to love this!' except that he knew that he wasn't. It was the same look that had greeted him when he had arrived at a bakery to discover a row of clowns sitting on the pavement. He had had to put up with clown jokes for at least a week after that. Mac grimaced. He was too tired for _the look_!

Don, clearly enjoying himself, stepped to one side with a theatrical sweep of a hand and Mac ground to a halt. He looked at Don then he looked at the creature standing just inside the door. Don's eyes sparkled with amusement. Mac kept his face neutral as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. The flat black shoes were polished to a high sheen. The white stockings revealed a pair of muscular calves that looked as though they belonged to a cyclist. The white breeches had been neatly pressed, as had the red waistcoat and the long blue frock-coat with gold trim. The whole outfit wouldn't have looked out of place on the set of a Regency England film if it weren't for the latex fish head mask.

"This is Detective Mac Taylor from the New York Crime lab," intoned Don politely as though making presentations at a high society soirée. "Mac, allow me to introduce Professor Dodgson, teacher of English literature here and key master for the evening."

"Good Evening Detective," said the fish head politely. Mac muttered an acknowledgement as he glanced at Don who was still had _the look_ on his face. "This is a terrible business. Terrible," continued the fish in a high-pitched staccato voice. Mac was having trouble visualizing the professor under the latex mask. He looked closely and was just able to make out two little button blue eyes peering out through a narrow slit. "I can't imagine who could have done such a thing. Such a sweet, sweet boy."

"Perhaps you'd like to remove your costume," suggested Don to the fish.

"Oh right, yes. Yes of course. It will take a few minutes. It's strapped to my shoulders," the fish added by way of explanation.

"No problem." Don turned to Mac with a grin. "This way." If Mac hadn't been so tired he would have wiped _the look_ from Don's face with an acerbic witticism. He was definitely beginning to regret taking this particular call. Mac followed Don down a wide airy corridor. They passed a trio of girls huddled together on a bench being supervised by a female officer. They watched wide-eyed as he and Don walked past. One of the girls appeared to be crying, a pretty girl with long blond hair wearing a blue and white party dress that would have looked more appropriate on a six year old. Another, dressed as a flower, had an arm around her shoulders while a third with impossibly curled hair piled high on her head and a supercilious smile was dressed in tight-fitting red satin from head to toe. She was watching them like a cat might watch a mouse lulling it into a sense of false security before pouncing on it and devouring it. Don decided to keep an eye on her.

A little further down the hall a door stood open. Another officer stood watching a group that included a sullen looking young man in a black Gothic outfit, a rabbit in a suit, and what appeared to be a very large orange cat. They took a right turn and then a left through two huge carved wooden doors. Don paused on the threshold. He still had _the look_! "Welcome to Wonderland Mac!"

.

Wonderland indeed. The enormous high-ceiling room could have rivalled some of Manhattan's top hotel ballrooms. The walls were decorated with huge swathes of blue and green material simulating a summer sky over green fields. They were artificial trees and gigantic flowers in every colour imaginable. Here and there pieces of scenery resembling doors stood against the walls. Some were tiny so that it looked as though anyone wishing to pass through would have to get on their hands and knees and others were so large it was barely possible to reach the handle. Tables and chairs of every size and style possible filled the space between the doorway and the raised stage at the far end of the room.

Don gestured for him to proceed. Slowly Mac made his way across the room threading his way between the tables. His head twisted back and forth as he took in all of the details. The tables had been set for tea with b right table-cloths and teapots in a myriad of designs and colours. Some were classic designs with big blue spots or pink roses, others resembled bowls of fruit or miniature tea-tables themselves complete with tiny porcelain sandwiches and cakes. The cups and saucers were works of art too. On many of the tables stood bottles with labels saying 'Drink Me' or little cakes labelled 'Eat me.' Strangely the surroundings made Mac's exhaustion even more pronounced. He was getting the feeling this was going to be a long evening.

Mac's eyes were drawn to the dais where a huge black upturned hat stood, the label in the band around it's middle announcing that it's price had once been ten shillings and six pence! Don gestured politely towards the hat. Curious, Mac stepped up onto the dais and peered over the edge of the hat. Like a jack-in-the-box, a figure suddenly sprang out.

"Jeez." Staggering backwards, Mac almost shot out of his skin causing Don to double up with laughter. Mac favoured him with a glare worthy of the Medusa. However, Don refused to be turned to stone as his shoulders shook with mirth.

"Ah Mac! Just the man I need." Sid unclipped his glasses completely unaware that his surprise appearance was the cause of Don's amusement. "Er … yes, well, I've completed my preliminary inspection. Perhaps you would be so kind to take overalls and then we can remove the poor unfortunate young man so I can get a better look at the wound." Mac recovered sufficiently to nod his agreement. He set down his case, pulled gloves from his pocket and picked up his camera favouring Don with another glare which seemed to amuse the younger detective even more. He stepped round behind the hat to discover that the rear section had been designed with a gap to allow people to step inside. Sid obliged by stepping out and allowing Mac to take his place.

Mac was silent for a moment as he looked at the small slim figure curled up inside the hat looking exactly like the character he was portraying. "Do we have an ID on our victim?"

"The Dormouse," answered Don helpfully with a smug grin. Mac didn't look up but his face took on a look of an exasperated parent whose hyperactive three year old was still jumping on the sofa two hours past bedtime. "Adrian Penrose," added Don with a hint of remorse. He could see how tired his friend looked. Mac had to admire the time and effort that had been put into the costume and make-up as he snapped a couple of wide-angle pictures then moved in to take close-ups of the face, hands and the pool of blood under the victim's head.

"You got a T.O.D. Sid?"

"Body temperature indicates less than an hour but it is very warm in here and in that costume ..." Sid looked doubtful. Mac nodded as he realized the implications of Sid's unfinished sentence. He placed his camera on a shelf that had been added just below the lip of the hat so as to be invisible to the audience, squatted down beside the body and picked up a sheaf of papers that had fallen from the victim's hand.

"Hiram Yates Debating Society proudly presents The Great Annual Hat Debate and Ball," Mac read.

"Er … it's like a balloon debate," supplied Sid. "Each character argues why they shouldn't be thrown out of the balloon or … in this case … the hat. I think you can rule out eliminating the competition as a motive. I suspect young Adrian would have had a tough time defending his character." Mac looked up at Sid in astonishment. "The dormouse spends most of his time asleep," he added helpfully.

"It says here that it doesn't start till eight. What was he doing here?"

Don stepped up and leaned over the lip of the hat to talk to Mac. "According to Professor Dodgson all the speakers come for the sound test before getting into costume ... and having Pre-Speech Drinks in the Teacher's Lounge." He recited the last part in an imitation of an upper-crust accent making Sid smirk. "It's tradition. That's how they found him. Alice came looking for him when he didn't turn up for drinks."

"Alice?"

Don looked apologetic. "Gillian Howell. She's Alice … er … in the blue and white dress. The others are ..." Don consulted his notes. "... Gregory Howell, her brother. He's the White Rabbit. Then we have Theo Carter, the Mad Hatter..."

"... ah my personal favourite..." added Sid. Mac refrained from commenting but Don was heartened to see a twitch of amusement play around the edge of his lips.

"Alicia Rayne, the Queen of Hearts. Toby Felix ..." Don sniggered. "... the … er … Cheshire Cat." He looked at Mac who looked unamused. "Oh come on Mac … Felix the Cat?" Mac rolled his eyes. Don consulted his notes. "And .. er … Sarah Yates … she's the … er … flower," he finished lamely. "She's responsible for the setting." Don waved his hand idly at the décor while wondering how a flower fit in but decided against making a comment. It was complicated enough. He watched patiently as Sid and Mac manoeuvred the body out of the cramped space and onto a tarpaulin laid on the stage behind the gigantic hat. Sid knelt down gently cradling the young man's head in his hands. They could see the look of sadness on his face at another young life lost.

"Very odd shape," muttered Sid eventually. "Mac could you get a close-up before we transport him?" Mac knelt and snapped off a few pictures and waited while Sid studied the wound. "It's roughly circular but with jagged edges on one side… I can't say for sure but ..."

"... but if you were to take an educated guess ..." Mac hinted hopefully. Sid looked at him over the top of his glasses and smiled. They knew one another well.

"If I were to take an educated guess, I'd say you're looking for a heavy object with a spherical head an inch and a half to two inches in diameter with er … dents along one edge and er ..." He broke off as he reached into his bag and came out with a pair of tweezers. Probing the wound he lifted a tiny fleck from the centre of the wound. "...gold paint." He studied the fleck intently."Curious ..." he looked up at Mac with a shy smile "...er and curiouser." Mac huffed and shook his head in amusement. "And anything else will have to wait until after the autopsy," Sid finished firmly. Mac nodded his thanks as he stood up and stretched his aching legs. A voice echoed through the hall drawing their attention.

"Wow! This is … awesome!" Adam weaved his way though the tables, his eyes the size of some of the saucers around him. "They must have spent a fortune on this." He waved a hand admiringly at the décor.

Sid stood up from behind the hat. "Extensive art department."

Adam jumped a mile. "Jeez!" Don creased up with laughter. Even Mac couldn't help a small smile as he stripped off his gloves. "Whoa! Sid! Sorry … er .. didn't see you … there." Adam stammered, his heart pounding in his chest at the good doctor's sudden appearance. He peered around the hat to spy the young man. "Oh man, it's the dormouse," he commented sadly. "I really like the dormouse."

Mac arched an eyebrow. Trust Adam! He scooped up his kit and handed his camera to Adam. "Well we'd best get to it."

Adam pulled himself from his reverie. "Oh yeah. Right boss. Where should I go?"

Mac looked at him strangely for a second. "That depends on where you want to end up." Mac grinned at Sid who chuckled and, abandoning his kit next to the giant upturned hat, he headed for the door calling for Don to accompany him. For a minute Adam and Sid gazed after them.

Adam frowned. "Did he … just quote Alice in Wonderland at me?"

Sid nodded wisely. "I believe he did."

"Huh!" Adam shook his head in disbelief then remembering what he was supposed to be doing, he looked around at the room in dismay wondering if he had to dust all the cups, saucers, teapots and bottles for prints. "Where to start?" he muttered half to himself.

"Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop."

Adam's shoulders slumped as he recognised the quote. "Thanks a lot Sid. " Clearly it was going to be one of those cases.

.

Don Flack was frustrated. Interviewing the witnesses was not turning up anything very useful. Alice, aka Gillian Howell did nothing but cry and say how much everyone adored Adrian and how nobody in the school could possibly do a thing like this. Her brother, Gregory aka the White Rabbit, contradicted her every word and said that Adrian had few friends, was shy, awkward and generally kept to himself. He also said that half of the kids in the school were capable of doing something like this. As to the reason why, however, he was generally unhelpful. Don was at least able to establish that they had an alibi as they had arrived late and had run directly into Toby Felix who they had to help get into his costume as it was buttoned up the back. So they had missed the sound check and had been together until the time that the murder had been discovered. None of them seemed to have a motive and he didn't think that they were colluding.

Don cast his eyes over the three who, together with Professor Dodgson minus his fish-head, were now seated on a rather plush sofa at the far end of the teacher's lounge watched over by the female officer who stood quietly by the door. Looking around the large airy room he bet that there wouldn't be many schools with staff rooms as fancy as this one. He thought about the detective's break room back at the precinct with its permanent stale coffee smell, chipped melamine tables and broken chairs, not to mention the boxes of week-old doughnuts, the mugs with mould growing in them and the mousetraps behind the vending machines. He shuddered.

Sighing, he dragged his attention back to his next witness, Theo Carter, aka. The Mad Hatter. Up close Don had to admit that he was a good choice for the part of the Hatter, having the dark looks of a young Johnny Depp. He bet he was popular with the girls and judging by the looks being cast in his direction he suspected the Queen of Hearts was high on that list not that Theo seemed to notice. With the exception of the high white collar and elaborate orange neckerchief Theo was dressed entirely in black. Rather than going for the frizzy orange look he had parted his long black hair in the middle. Don rather suspected he had dyed his hair for the occasion but refrained from asking. Together with the black and white make-up he looked more like The Crow than Depp's version of the Hatter.

While the young man intoned dully that he hadn't seen the victim after the sound check as he had to supervise the setting up of the bar for the ball after the debate and Don could ask the caterers if he liked, Don couldn't resist glancing across at Mac who he had specifically asked to interview the Queen of Hearts aka Alicia Rayne. Having already spoken briefly to the young woman Don thought Mac might enjoy himself. He grinned at the look of disdain on Mac's face as she leaned across the table showing far more cleavage than a member of royalty should. She even tried playing footsie under the table. However a sharp comment from Mac and one his infamous glares soon put her in her place. That would teach her, thought Don to himself suppressing a smirk.

Having finished with Theo, Don turned to the last member of the group, the flower. "Er .. Sarah … er ...?" She smiled at him with soft blue watery eyes that peered out from the host of pink and purple petals that surrounded her face.

"Yes?" she answered in a high-pitched, lilting voice as she took her place at the table.

Don had interviewed all kinds in his time but never someone dressed as a flower and he was having a little trouble focussing so he looked his notes. "Sarah Yates right?"

"Smuffly."

Don looked up sharply. "Er … excuse me?"

"Sarah Maya Ursula Fi-Fi Lucile Yates," she recited. "My friends call me Smuffly!"

Don stared at her as she tipped her head to one side and gazed at him with those disconcerting pale blue eyes. He thought she seemed a little out there! "Of course they do ... Now … er ..."

"That's why I dressed as a flower." Don looked at her blankly. _Had he missed something?_ "Because of my name. Sarah, after Sarah Fuller Flower Adams?"

"Ri...ght?"

"Nearer, my God, to Thee. Such a lovely hymn don't you think? It was my grandfather's favourite. He started this school you know. I love poetry don't you? Adrian loved poetry too. He was such a gentle soul. He could play the harpsichord, you know? They say they played it as the Titanic went down." The words tumbled out.

Don was confused. "The harpsichord?"

"No, Nearer, my God, to Thee." She gazed at Don innocently. Don sighed. Obviously this all perfectly clear in her labyrinthine mind. Don sighed again. He had a feeling it was going to be a strange interview.

.

Sid had accompanied Adrian's body out to the van as he did with all his victims. He watched as his mortuary assistant closed the doors and drove the van away. The police were holding back the crowd of rubber-necking youngsters in evening dress who had turned up for the debate and ball. They were invariably holding up cell phones to photograph or video the scene. He shook his head sadly at the voyeurism, turned and slowly wandered back to retrieve the tarpaulin and his equipment. As he walked down the corridor he looked at the notice boards on the way. The Soccer Team, the Chess Club, the Electronics Club, the Martial Arts Society. He paused by the Debating Society board. Among the formal documents that included a copy of the society's rules, a timetable of meetings, a poster for the Great Hat debate as well as profiles of the speakers were a number of photographs from previous events. One caught his eye. It had been taken at an event entitled 'Is love blind?' Sid unclipped his glasses and settled them on his nose peering more closely at the picture.

"But love is blind and lovers cannot see the pretty follies they commit!" He plucked the photograph from the board and hurried down the corridor. Regaining the hall he stopped short to see a pair of legs waving wildly in the air. It was a few seconds before he realized who they belonged to. "Good Lord!" He stuffed the photograph in his pocket and rushed to help Adam who appeared to be stuck in a large lime green teapot that stood proudly in the corner of the room. Kicking the teapot lid out of the way Sid grabbed hold of his trouser belt. "Adam, are you all right?"

"Er .. yush ..." came the indistinct voice from inside the pot. "Almush … got … it!" He appeared to slide in a little further. "Yes! Got it! Pull me oush!" Sid hauled on his belt and a rather breathless and red-faced Adam came tumbling out. "Oh wow! Thanks Sid."

"You're wel ..." Sid broke off as he stared at the object in his hand.

Adam held up his prize with a grin. "I think I've found the murder weapon."

.

Mac and Don stood comparing notes at the far end of the teacher's lounge. The young people accompanied by Professor Dodgson were gathered together on the sofas at the opposite end. They had been joined by the headmaster, a severe looking man with small round glasses and thin grey hair, and the deputy head, a plump woman with a mass of fluffy hair and a permanently worried expression. Don noticed that they were watching him intently as though in anticipation of an Agatha Christiesque announcement of whodunnit. Don glanced at them and then at the open tin of chocolate chip cookies less than six inches from his hand. He wondered if he could manage a little sleight of hand. _So tempting! Dammit!_ He forced his eyes back to notes. "From what I can see, the only ones who had the opportunity and don't have alibis are the Hatter, the Queen of Hearts and Smuffly."

Mac raised an eyebrow at this. "Smuffly?"

"I mean Sarah … Yates ...the flower," Don answered. Mac looked at him questioningly. "Just … don't ask."

Mac looked over at them. To be honest he couldn't imagine the petite girl killing anybody in her delicate almost ethereal outfit made of fine green organza with it's crowning wreath of petals. Now the Queen of Hearts … she was something else. He couldn't help looking at the thigh-high slit in the dress. A real man-eater. Mac suspected Don had asked him to interview her on purpose. He could still feel her foot sliding up the back of his leg. He shuddered.

At that moment he was torn away from his thoughts as a breathless and ecstatic looking Adam burst in. "Got it Boss," he announced holding up a regal looking, gold sceptre in a plastic bag. "I got the murder weapon." Everyone in the room stared at the heart-encrusted staff in amazement. Slowly everyone turned to look at Alicia Rayne.

Her jaw dropped and the haughty queen disappeared leaving behind a frightened little girl. "It wasn't me," she squealed. "You can't think it was me." She looked appealing at Mac. "I swear." Suddenly she jumped up. "Tell them Theo, tell them that I left it in the hall, on the table in the wings." Theo looked at her coldly. "You saw me. You saw me put it on the table while Adrian was testing the mikes. Tell them."

"It's okay." Adam's voice was firm. Alicia looked at him in desperation. "I dusted it for prints. There are two sets." Mac and Don, who had been watching their faces carefully, simultaneously took a step forward as Theo jumped up. He pushed Alicia away and lunged at Adam snatching the sceptre from his hand. Adam tumbled into the deputy head sending them both into a sprawl of arms and legs. The officer who had stood quietly by the door gave a sharp cry. She went for the gun at her hip but Theo swiped at her with the sceptre knocking the gun from her hand. Dropping the sceptre he dove for the gun. Snatching it up he waved it around.

"Nobody move," he screamed. He backed away towards the door.

"You don't want to do this Theo." Don pointed his gun at him. "Don't do anything stupid. Put the gun down son." Don kept his voice calm and firm. He tried to focus the kid's attention on him while Mac moved cautiously to his left. The last thing they wanted was a shoot-out here.

"Don't move. Stay where you are." The gun waved wildly back and forth. "I didn't mean it," he sobbed. "It was an accident." Alicia just stared at him in astonishment.

"Theo, put the gun down and we can can talk about it. Okay?" Don glanced at Mac who now stood several feet to his left, his gun held firmly in both hands. He gave an almost imperceptible nod and dipped the muzzle of the gun. Knowing that Mac had his back, Don let go of his weapon with his left hand and spread his hands, showing Theo the gun in profile and that he no longer had his finger on the trigger. Theo's eyes darted around the room before returning to him. "I'm going to put my gun away. Come on Theo, just lower the gun. No one needs to get hurt here."

Indecision mingled with regret clouded the young man's face. The gun wavered in his hand. "I didn't mean to." His free hand grasped at his hair as his grip on the gun loosened. His hand lowered slightly "He was gonna tell … I wasn't ready ... I couldn't let him tell … I'm sorry!" he whimpered.

"Tell what Theo?" snapped the headmaster angrily. "What have you done?"

Theo grasped at his head. "NO!" The gun snapped back up and swung towards the headmaster. Adam saw his opportunity and sprang forward to grasp his hand forcing it up towards the ceiling. The resulting shot was deafening as it echoed around the room. Plaster rained down from the ceiling causing several people to scream and dive for the floor.

Mac swore as Adam appeared in his line of sight. Don's gun repositioned itself on the couple as they staggered back towards the door in their fight for control of the gun. Suddenly a tall figure appeared behind them. Arms appeared grasping Theo from behind, one hand gripping his throat. Time seemed to stop. Then slowly Theo's eyes rolled upwards and he sagged.

Adam found himself gripping the gun as Theo's grip loosened and the young man slid to the floor cradled in Sid's arms. No one moved for a moment wondering where he had come from and what he had just done. Silence descended on the room. Mac and Don lowered their guns.

Adam stared at Sid in amazement. "That was … awesome," he whispered as he watched Sid check the young man's vitals.

Seeing the worried faces Sid smiled and announced. "Oh he'll be all right but it's best to check."

Don just stared at him open-mouthed. "What did he just do?" he asked Mac who was reholstering his weapon relieved that he hadn't had to use it. Mac chuckled and shook his head.

"A Vulcan Neck Pinch!" intoned Adam, his voice full of admiration.

"Not exactly," Sid admonished. "Although the principle is the same. The carotid arteries in the neck contain receptors that measure pressure so if you apply enough external pressure on them, the body is tricked into thinking that the blood pressure is too high so it sends signals to increase the size of the blood vessels which will engender a dramatic decrease the blood pressure. Simultaneously signals get sent via the vagus nerve, which is next to the carotid arteries, to the heart thereby making the heart rate slow down which causes too little blood and therefore oxygen to get to the brain, and because the brain needs a constant supply of oxygen this causes it to shut off and …" He finally paused for breath. "... er ... you fall unconscious." He reached in his pocket for his phone and placed a call for EMS.

Don looked at Mac. "Did you follow any of that nonsense?"

Mac grinned. "I like nonsense; it wakes up the brain cells. "

Don stared at him suspiciously. "Are you quoting Alice in Wonderland again?"

"No. Dr Seuss!"

Don groaned and wished he hadn't asked.

.

The four men stood on the steps watching the ambulance pull away. The other kids had been allowed to go home and the on-lookers had finally wandered away sensing the drama was over and there was going to be no ball that night.

"I wonder what it was that Adrian was going to tell," mused Adam to no one in particular as he gripped his evidence tightly in his hand for fear it might be snatched away again.

"We can ask him when the hospital clears him to be interviewed," Don stood next to Mac who had retrieved his kit and looked as though he might finally call it a night. "In the morning," he added firmly. Mac nodded.

"Oh! I might be able to help with that." Sid stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out the photograph. He stared at for a moment and handed it to Don. "I found this. It might go some way to explaining what happened." He raised his hand in farewell as Mac and Adam leaned forward to look at the picture. It featured the same group of kids who looked younger without their costumes. It appeared to have been taken in the garden behind the school. To the right the twins, Gillian and Gregory stood together with a kneeling Toby Felix in front of them. A smiling Alicia Rayne took centre stage holding an enormous red heart in a pose worthy of Marilyn Munroe. Smuffly sat on a wall with a dreamy expression. Adrian was seated on the edge of the group in a large leather armchair which looked incongruous among the rose bushes. At their feet lay Theo Carter in a Roman pose. He was leaning on his elbow, one leg stretched out to the side, the other bent at the knee. His head was turned slightly away from the camera, his long wavy hair falling over his shoulder. He appeared to be looking at the others behind him but when you looked closely it was clear that he was looking at one person in particular and that Adrian was looking at him. Words weren't necessary to describe the message that passed between them. Unwittingly the photographer had caught it perfectly for those who cared to look closely.

Mac sighed. "Oh the terrible deeds that are done in the name of love."

Don rolled his eyes. "Now who are you quoting? Lewis Carroll? Oscar Wilde? Shakespeare? "

A sly smile curved his lips. "No." Mac shook his head and nodded towards the departing doctor. "Sid Hammerback!"

**The End**

**.**

**A/N : Oh and for those of you who haven't guessed by now, Smuffly's other challenge was to get her penname into a fic! :-D**

**.**


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